On a stormy night
by KUG
Summary: During a terrible storm, two worlds collide. When the inhabitants are thrown together, Halt, Will and Gilan must try to help the people from the other world save both worlds.
1. Storm's fury

**Authors Note: Well this is my first RA fanfic to no flaming if this is realy crappy. Because I'll absorb it with my water shield. NO FLAMES! Sorry.

* * *

**

Kleay stared around her, tail bushing out in fear. Thunder crashed almost directly above her head. Kleay scream and clutched her tree branch more tightly. The rain came lashing down even harder than it had been. The wind howled around her ears and she shut her eyes tightly, screaming out to her father, her mother, her pet hawk, anything that came to mind, to help her.

A gust of wind almost pushed her off the branch she clung to and she lashed her tail wildly to try and keep her balance. Several arrows from her quiver and fell down to the forest floor far below. Her bow started fell after them. Kleay tried to grab it as it spun down and almost fell from her tree. She screamed again and lightning flashed overhead, lighting up the forest with an eerie blue-white light. Thunder followed almost instantly after it, almost deafening Kleay with a earth-shaking crash.

Kleay ragained her balance and contiued to cry out to anyone that came to mind.

Will jumped as thunder crashed overhead. He peered out of the entrance of his tent and a second lightning flash almost blinded him. He quickly pulled back, blinking. _Some storm._ he thought. _I hope nothing happens to Tug._ He clapped his hands over his ears as thunder roared nearby. It was farther away than last time. _Good. The storm is leaving._ Will settled down and wrapped his blanket around himself. Slowly he dropped off to sleep.

* * *

**Well, what do ya'll think? BTW, Kleay's name is pronounced, KLEE-AY**

**R&R please!  
**


	2. After the storm

**Authors Note: Well, here is my second chapter. Thanks to the people who gave me the reviews. I've never got so many for one chapter.**

* * *

Early the next morning, Will was taking a leisurely walk in the woods surrounding the gathering area. He had woken, checked on Tug and then come back to his campsite and eaten breakfast. As he slowly strolled along, he watched the sun come out from behind the clouds that had shrouded it earlier. The weak and watery light shone through sparkling raindrops, which were perched on leaves and twigs everywhere. Tiny rainbows danced around on the tree trunks and Will smiled at the silent beauty.

Suddenly, something rustled quietly in the bushes. Will froze. He turned and looked at the juniper bush that had announced the arrival of whatever, or whoever, had passed by. The rustle had been too quiet to be an animal, too suspicious sounding. This thought was confirmed by a flash of red cloth among the leaves. The slight noises moved away and Will, after a moment's hesitation, followed.

After a while, Will came upon a small clearing in the forest. He paused and then darted behind the cover of a tree. He took a deep breath and knocked an arrow to his bow. Then he stepped from behind his tree.

"King's Ranger! Stay where you are!" To his total surprise, whoever it was shot up the nearest tree in an explosion of leaves. Will's arrow hurled itself across the clearing to bury itself, quivering, into the trunk of the oak that the person had dashed up. Will caught sight of a white-tipped tail vanishing among the foliage. Two frightened luminous green eyes stared out at him. They belonged not to an animal, they were to full of emotion to belong to one.

The owner of the green eyes showed it's face for a second. A girl's face. The only startling thing was that the ears were that of a cat's. Large, cupped orange-furred ears. Then the face disappeared, leaving Will startled and slack-jawed with surprise. First, he had almost shot an innocent girl, second, that same girl had cat ears, and they weren't fake.

He heard rustling in the bushes and he whirled around to see who it was. He relaxed when he saw Halt.

"Halt!" he exclaimed. "You started me!"

The older ranger's right eyebrow shot up. "I can see that." he said wryly. "What do you have treed up there?"

"A girl." Halt shot him an incredulous look.

"Why the devil do you have a girl trapped up in a tree?" He paused for a moment, thinking, then he continued. "But how did she find the gathering grounds?"

Will shook his head. "I don't think she even knows where she is. She darted up that tree the second she saw me. She didn't even stop when I told her I was a king's ranger." Both of Halt's eyebrows jumped up at this.

"She didn't stop?" he echoed. "That's odd in the extreme." He looked at the tree. The round orbs were staring at him. No, wait. Not at him. At his weapons. Halt quickly unclipped his belt with the saxe and throwing knife and let it drop reassuringly to the leaves. He shrugged off his longbow and quiver of arrows as well. "Come on down." he coaxed. "We aren't going to harm you in any way.

He darted a swift glance at Will. The young man caught his look and quickly disarmed himself. "Yes, that's right. We won't hurt you."

The eyes flickered. Then they disappeared with a rustle into the foliage. But she wasn't leaving. The leaves rustled slightly all the way down the trunk. The girl was coming down. There was a pause. Then a furious thrashing. The girl dropped the last yard from the tree and landed on all fours on the leaves. Her orange ears were pressed flat back against her head and her tail was lashing around with fear. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the two men before her. She pressed her self almost completely flat to the ground.

Halt blinked in surprise. Will had forgotten to tell him about her ears and tail. But Halt remained still, so as not to frighten her. "She's a wild thing sure enough." he muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Will. His young friend nodded.

Suddenly the bushes at the edge of the clearing rustled and a tall young man stepped out of the forest. There was an explosion of leaves and Halt and Will both flinched and threw up their hands to protect their faces from the shower of leaves and twigs as the girl shot up the tree again.

Halt turned angrily to the tall young ranger that was grinning at him. "Why the devil did you have to be so noisy just then?" he snapped irately.

Gilan grin widened, if it was possible because the grin was wide enough already. "Halt! What a lovely hat of leaves you have!"

Halt glared and brushed the leaves out of his hair. "Next time you say something like that, I'm going to kill you."

* * *

**The next chapter may take a while to get here, so hold your horses everybody. I hope you like it so far.**

**R&R as always! And I will give you fluffy pink bunnies and a sword to chop up the bunnies if you wish. Because some of you might not like the bunnies. **

**One last thing, I'm extremely random so excuse the random part.  
**


	3. The prophet mage

**Authors Note: Yay! Eleven reviews! Thank you! Well, this is my third chapter. I hope ya'll are liking this so far.  
**

* * *

Gilan shrugged. "You've threatened to do that often enough and I'm still not dead."

Halt glared again, but was hiding a smile. "So I have."

Will interjected before the friendly argument continued any farther. "Just a second, you've forgotten the girl, Halt."

The grizzled older ranger shook his head. "I didn't forget, I was just talking to Gilan. And now we can get the girl down." He shot a look at Gilan. "We had accomplished that until Gilan came along and scared her away."

Gilan looked up at the tree. The green eyes were staring at him. "You mean there's a girl up there? I've never seen a girl that could climb so fast!"

Will shook his head. "That's because she's not a normal girl." When Gilan gave him a questioning look, he continued. "She appears to be half cat."

Gilan's jaw dropped. There was no way he could disbelieve his friend. "Half cat!"

Will nodded seriously. "Yes." Then he gestured at Gilan's weapons. "She won't come down unless you take those off." Gilan quickly complied.

Kleay stared down at the men in confusion. She had woken up when the sky was still dark and had climbed down to retrieve her bow and the arrows she had lost. Then she had seen one of the strangers, a wiry brown-haired young man, and she had gone back to her tree. She had gone back up when he had scared her and then the second man had joined the first. He was small but strong looking, with black hair and a beard, flecked with silvery gray.

Kleay was extremely confused. The men had no tails, or ears like hers. She bristled and shivered. The only people who didn't have tails and ears were the Katka. And the Katka had wings and beaks. Because of the fact that the people didn't look like Katka or Vetaer, Kleay had expected them to speak in some outlandish tongue that she wouldn't understand. But they spoke like the Vetaer. Kleay shuddered again. At least they didn't appear to be Ammorin. One Ammorin was bad enough, but three was very bad.

At the moment they were talking in low voices, gesturing discreetly in her direction. The third man, who had startled her earlier, was taking off his weapons. Good. Now Kleay felt safer. Then the oldest man, the one with the beard, called out.

"Come down. We won't hurt you." He muttered something to the third man, who was tallest. Kleay heard something that sounded like, 'Gilan'. Maybe that was the tall man's name. The tall man, Gilan, called out as well,

"It's okay! We won't hurt you."

Kleay hesitated, then turned around and climbed down the tree.

Will watched the foliage rustle in the tree as the girl came down a second time. This time, she didn't drop the last couple feet. Instead, she climbed down the last bit. He was startled to see that she was hanging upside-down, using bumps and knotholes in the tree to keep from falling. Her tail was lashing around from side to side, helping her to keep her balance.

This time, Will noted, her ears weren't flat. Instead, they were pricked curiously and her eyes were looking at them with intelligence and trust. Then she dropped the last foot down and rose to a half crouch. She hesitated, then straitened up and looked Halt, Gilan and Will in the eyes.

She paused again, then, surprisingly, she spoke. "Are you Ammorin?" she asked.

"What?" blurted Will.

The girl looked at him, puzzlement in her eyes. "What do you mean, 'what'? I asked a question. Are you an Ammorin?"

"We don't even know what an Ammorin is!" exclaimed Halt.

"You...don't? You don't know what the Ammorin are?"

"No."

The girl shook her head and a worried look crossed her face. "That's okay then." She paused. "I suppose that you'd like to know my name. I'm Kleay."

Will blinked. She had an awfully strange name. But that didn't matter, she was odd enough as it was, with her ears and tail. "I'm Will." he said. "And this is Halt and _he_," Will glared at the tall young ranger. "is Gilan, a very careless ranger when he wants to be." Gilan grinned cheerfully.

"Hullo! Nice meeting you." he said casually.

Kleay smiled. These strangers were friendly, and very nice. Except for the one named Halt. He had a grim look on his face at all times. Kleay arched one eyebrow at the thought. Oddly enough, the one called Will and Gilan smiled at the movement. Kleay smiled at them again.

"Well," she said. "I really think you're nice and all, but," she paused. "but I really need to get home to my parents." Then she sighed. She didn't know where she was at all.

The three men blinked at her, then exchanged looks. "Actually," Will began. "We need you to come with us. We need to ask you some questions." Kleay frowned and then looked around at the trees surrounding her. She didn't know where she was. These men could help her. She looked back at them.

Will was staring at her and Halt was just as taciturn as ever. "Fine, I don't have any choice." She walked over to them and then stopped. Will gently took her wrist.

"Come on, follow us."

"And don't try anything funny." added Halt. He picked up his weapons and clipped them on.

Kleay scowled at him. "I'm not stupid." she snapped, flattening her ears and letting her tail whip around angrily. Will widened his eyes slightly at Kleay's show of anger. He gently pulled her along behind him.

They had been walking for about a minute when Kleay smelled a familiar scent. She stopped and turned around. "Jackar!" she cried. Halt, Will and Gilan turned and looked. Kleay was smiling at a short cat-man dressed in black and gray with black ears tipped with white. He glided out of the bushes and turned impassive black eyes on the three rangers.

Jackar blinked slowly. "The prophecy is being fulfilled." he said in an ominous voice. "The invisible ones have come."

* * *

**Well, do you all like suspense? Then be prepared!**

**R&R please!  
**

**Oh yeah, if ya'll haven't guessed, I'm southern. So that's why I keep saying, 'ya'll'. It's an abbreviated way to say, 'you all'. I say it all the time.  
**


	4. Destroyed with fire

**Authors Note: Well, here it is! The fourth chapter, the beginning of all excitement!  
**

* * *

Will stared at the small cat-man in front of him. He was shorter than normal, about the size of Halt, with black hair. He was wearing a gray shirt with black pants a soft boots. His ears were black with white tips, as was his tail. His eyes were very dark, almost black. He had high cheekbones and a small nose.

Jackar suddenly turned his dark eyes on him. Will started.

"You are Will." he stated.

Kleay stepped forwards and grabbed Jackar's arm. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "What am I doing here? Where is the rest of the village?"

The black-haired man flicked one ear. "Spread out around here, in this world. Kleay, this is not our home, this is not the Vetaers' land. This world belongs to the invisible ones and the rest of the people in their world."

Kleay's eyes widened. "This is not home?"

Jackar shook his head. "A strange phenomenon has occurred. One that has not happened for many lives of earth. Two worlds have collided, bringing together the inhabitants." he paused and a look of fear glowed in his eyes for a brief second. "The peaceful and the warlike. In our world, the Vetaer, the Katka and the Ammorin. In their world," He shook his head. "I have no knowledge of them or their world. Only the knowledge that both worlds are in danger."

"In danger?" asked Halt.

Jackar nodded. "In serious jeopardy. If the world remain like they are for too long, everything will be destroyed in a massive blaze of fire. Already, across the sea, fire is destroying the earth." He paused again. "If we wait any longer, both worlds will be lost forever."

* * *

**Well! There will be more to come! I'll wait a week before I put up the next chapter so I can think up the plot better.**

**R&R!  
**


	5. The magic must be restored

**Authors Note: Well, here it is! My fifth chapter! It'll get a little more exciting now. I'll have to type a whole bunch so that I can have some stuff to post for ya'll to read while I'm gone. I'm going to Michigan with my family and I'll be gone for two weeks. The cabin has no computer or TV and my family owns no laptops so I'll be gone for a while.**

**Anyway, here is my chapter. I hope ya'll are getting into it because it's been fun writing it and I'm excited about how it's going to turn out.  
**

* * *

Halt, Gilan, Will and Kleay stared at the small cat-man in front of them. Halt and the other rangers exchanged looks.

"So, what are we going to do about it?" asked Will finally, breaking the silence. Jackar inclined his head slightly, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly in amusement.

"I had thought that you would ask that question, seeing as you are younger and therefore still extremely curious." Then the humor was gone from his face, replaced by a solemn and thoughtful look. "To tell the truth, young-one, I really cannot tell exactly what we are supposed to do to save our worlds. Only that there is a great magic that must be restored to its proper place." He looked off into the distance, a vague look in his eyes. "_The invisible ones will help the Vetaer restore the magic. The earth will save the magic, and the magic will save the earth._" Jackar blinked and turned his gaze once more to the rangers and Kleay. "That is the prophecy."

Kleay gave a sigh of reverence. "Jackar," she gasped, eyes shining with a green flame. "I know now why you were chosen as the prophet-mage. You will help us save the Vetaer and the people of this land." She gave the rangers a look.

"We're Araluens." Gilan said in answer to her look.

Kleay nodded. "The Araluens." she finished. Then she reached forwards and took Jackar's hand. "Come with us. We're going to talk with the Araluens." she said. Then she pulled the prophet-mage behind her to stand next to the rangers. "Come on." she added impatiently when the three men didn't move.

Halt blinked, slightly startled at this turn of events. Then he recovered himself and nodded to Kleay. "Of course. Follow me." He led the way as the group set off to the gathering grounds.

They came out into the meadow were the rangers held gathering. Kleay gasped and shrank back a little. Will looked at her. The cat-girl's eyes were wide with fear and her ears were lying flat on her head.

"There's so many tents!" she whispered. "Are there lots of invisible ones here?"

Will cast her a pitying look. "Yes. And we're called rangers."

Kleay looked up at him and her fear faded a little. "Oh." She straitened up and forced her ears to prick again. But the way she moved, warily and slightly fearfully, told Will that she was still scared.

"It's not that bad." he comforted her. "They won't hurt you or anything like that. All the rangers are friendly." Kleay sighed.

"Thanks." she said. Then they all moved forwards again. They passed clusters of rangers and Kleay shivered as their shocked and curious gazes swept over her. But they didn't say anything as Halt led them strait to were a tall sandy-haired ranger was talking to a group of older rangers. The ranger looked up and gave a start of surprise.

"What do you have here Halt?" he asked.

Halt stiffened slightly. "Crowley, this is Kleay and Jackar." He let the cat-people step forwards. "I'd better let Jackar explain."

The cat-man nodded to Halt. "Thank you." He turned to Crowley. "I am Jackar, as he said already. I do not come from this world." He paused. "I am here because your world has collided with mine. The collision happened quite recently. It forced the inhabitants together and now the worlds, since they and their inhabitants can not remain together, are being slowly destroyed with fire. The flames will destroy both worlds unless..." Jackar suddenly broke off and stared with wide eyes at the sky.

Kleay followed his gaze and gave a scream of horror. "The Katka!"

* * *

**R&R, _Sil vous ple_!  
**


	6. Katka attack

**Authors Note: Yay! This is turning out very well! I hope ya'll like it!  
**

* * *

Kleay bristled. "NO!" came a terrified scream. Kleay looked over at Jackar. His eyes were wide and he was crouched close to the ground, ears laid flat and tail bushed out with fear. "Don't let them get to me!" he wailed. Kleay bristled with anger now. The Katka were dangerous to prophet-mages.

The rangers were looking at the sky with wide eyes. Halt whipped an arrow out of his quiver, knocking and pulling it back to full draw within the space of a heartbeat. Kleay lunged at him a second before he released. The arrow flew wide and completely missed the Katka he had been aiming at. The half-bird screamed with rage and flapped its wings as it flew out of bowshot.

Halt picked himself out of the dirt as Kleay yelled, "Don't try to shoot at them! They have metal bodies and wings! They'll come and get you!" She whipped out her own arrow. "Only a scorching shot can kill them!" Within a few seconds, Kleay's arrow was soaring through the air. The Katka Halt had just shot at was diving down towards the grim-faced ranger. "_Hathian metra fira_!" called Kleay. Her arrow burst into flames and buried itself in the Katka's chest.

The half-bird gave a scream of fear and rage as it plummeted to the ground. A blurred shape darted out of the trees surrounding the meadow and a Vetaer threw itself on the Katka, which was flapping it's wings uselessly. In a whirl of brown and white fur, the Vetaer clawed furiously at the Katka's face. In moments, the Katka was lying limply in the dust, a female cat-person standing over it with bloodied hands.

"Samuria!" called Kleay. "You take them down when they fall!" The brown-haired girl nodded and bared her teeth.

"We will slay them!" she agreed. Then she ducked out of the way as a Katka swooped down and lashed out with a hooked beak. The Katka were now diving at the rangers all over the gathering grounds, forcing them to dodge out of the way. Kleay knocked a second arrow to her bow and called out the spell again as she swiftly aimed and released. More Katka fell to the ground to be beset by Samuria, who clawed them viciously until they were dead.

"Is there any way we can help?" asked Will urgently.

"Yes. Take your knives and stab the Katka's faces. That's the only way to kill them. You cannot shoot their faces with arrows." replied Kleay calmly as she fired another scorching arrow.

She heard a scream and whirled to find a Katka attempting to lift a ranger into the air. She fired her arrow and the Katka screamed and fell back to the ground a meter below. Samuria flew past, running on all fours with a ranger dashing in her wake. The Vetaer and the ranger flung themselves on the Katka and lashed out at its face.

Then, suddenly, the Katka screamed to each other and spiraled raggedly away. Kleay, breathing hard from her massive usage of magic looked around to make sure they were gone.

Samuria ran up on all fours again and crouched in the dust, panting in a dog-like way. "They're all gone. We killed the last one." She gestured at the ranger who had been following her. Then she turned to Jackar, who was lying on the ground. "Is he all right?" she asked worriedly. "Did the Katka get him." Panic flared in her eyes.

Kleay shook her head wearily. "No. He's fine, I think." She looked down at Jackar. As if sensing that his people were worried for him, he opened his eyes and staggered upright.

"I am fine. The Katka's presence is harmful to me. I was recovering." He trembled and shook his head. "I am fading." he added softly.

Kleay and Samuria gasped. "No! You can't be fading already!" whispered Kleay, horrified.

"But it is happening nonetheless. I cannot stop the invetible."

Kleay's eyes filled with tears. "But you have to stay and help us restore our worlds!"

"I may be here long enough for that. But I will fade no matter what happens."

"What's all this about fading?" asked Gilan, coming up with Will trailing in his wake.

Kleay looked at him with such anguish that he flinch and looked away. "Prophet-mages do not die. They fade. It leaves them time to find an heir to their power. But it it painful to them."

"So Jackar will fade away?"

The prophet-mage nodded and spoke, "Yes. I may not be gone by the time we have found the magic and restored to its place. I know not how long I have, or where the magic is, or even what shape the magic will take."

"You're going to die?"

"Yes. And it may be very soon if the Katka remain here."

* * *

**To pronounce Samuria's name, you say, Sam-ooh-rye-ah**.** And guess what? Somebody is going to die, not Jackar, since he is going to die anyway. But you have to vote on who is going to die. And it's a mystery vote!**

**Vote for,**

**a.**

**b.  
**

**

* * *

R&R, _Sil vous ple_!  
**


	7. NOT A CHAPTER CHARACTER DESCRIPTION!

**A/N: Okeydoke peoples, I haven't updated this in a while because I've been busy with school and now I'm writing the next chapter. This right here is a list of characters and pronunciations. I will be a while before I can update this. I am going to give out some character's names of whom you have not heard so don't be confused, they'll show up later.**

**

* * *

**Jackar(Juh-CAR): Male, black hair, small mustache and goatee and black eyes. Black, white-tipped tail and ears.

Kleay(Klee-ay): Female, golden-blond hair with red tint and brilliant green eyes. Orange ears and tail, tail has white tip.

Sanuria(Sam-u-rye-ah): Female, dark brown hair and yellow eyes. Brown and white patched ears and tail.

Vepaa(Veh-pa): Male, silvery-blond hair and mint-green eyes. White ears and tail.

Talla(Tal-uh): Female, pale blond hair and brilliant blue eyes. White ears and tail.

Sapphire: Female, blond hair and brilliant blue eyes. White ears and tail.

**

* * *

**

**Sooooooooooo, this is my character description so far. There will be many things in which the characters will be involved with. So be on watch for my latest chapters and all that.**

**I'll be back later y'all! See ya'!  
**

**Chocolate and Beans will rain from the sky while Ninjas dance in cranberry juice!-Me vepaa  
**


	8. Inferior sight

**A/N: Hey y'all! I really hope you will enjoy this chapter. I've got the votes. Someone's death is soon! Not telling though. I really hope the this is coming together better now. They've finally gotten somewhere! So I hope you enjoy!**

**Enjoy!

* * *

**

Jackar sighed. "I must begin my search for my heir. Though how I'm going to do so here I do not know."

Samuria blinked at him. "We'll probably find someone in the forest around here." she said. "Since I came and you and Kleay are here. And the Katka." She suddenly gave a shiver of fear. "If the Katka are here, then so are the Ammorin." she whispered. Kleay and Jackar both widened their eyes and made some kind of symbol by making an X on their left shoulders and then touching their lips once with their fingertips.

Will, Halt, Gilan and Crowley all exchanged looks, wondering why the cat-people were so terrified of these Ammorin, whatever they were. Will went to speak, but Kleay started first.

"Jackar?" she asked. "Where is the magic? Do you know where it is?"

"Yes."

"Then we must find it and restore it! We must—"

Jackar let his tail curl up so it was almost touching his back. It obviously meant for the cat-girl to be quiet and she obeyed instantly. Jackar's ears twitched slightly in acknowledgment. He let his tail drop. "First," he said. "I must tell all I know of what is happening." He turned to Crowley and Samuria and rapidly informed them of what was going on. When he had finished, he stood silently, tail twitching.

The sandy-haired ranger commandant stood rigidly, eyes betraying how shocked he was. But Samuria was blinking furiously, as if she was frantically trying to remember something.

"I—I thing I somehow knew this already." she stammered. "I have a feeling..." She trailed off when the prophet-mage turned his intense black gaze on her.

"Yes?" he queried.

Samuria gathered herself and started again. "I have a feeling that these rangers are strongly connected with the magic itself." She closed her eyes and thought hard for a moment. "One of them more strongly so than the others."

Will shuddered involuntarily. Something about the way she said it chilled him to the bone. Samuria suddenly opened her eyes, frustration in every line of her body.

"I forgot who is though!" she announced quietly to herself. Jackar and Kleay were now both talking to Halt, Crowley and Gilan. Only Will was still standing next to Samuria. Will, rather creeped out of the young brown-haired Vetaer, sidled up to the little group of rangers and Vetaer. A few other rangers straggled up, still glancing up at the sky.

"What were they?" asked Brent, a young ranger apprentice. He was pressing a small wad of cloth to his bloody cheek and his wide blue-gray eyes were serious.

"They came strait from the devil." uttered another ranger in hushed tones.

Will reached out with his hand and gripped the other man's arm tightly.

"Yes, it does seem that way, Corin. But they actually belong to another world. It's a very long and complicated story, and I'll tell you about it later."

Will's dark eyes bored into the other man. Corin read what Will was expressing and nodded silently. Will released him and walked over to Halt and the others. Samuria followed behind him. Trailing her were Brent, Corin and many other rangers.

Crowley and Halt were conferring urgently in the midst of their group. Kleay was urging Jackar to drink some water. The prophet mage was still looking a bit frightened. His white-tipped ears were strait up though. And Will knew enough about cats to figure that that meant he was fine.

Will walked up and stood by quietly listening to the discussion between Halt and Crowley.

"We _will_ have to send somebody to help Jackar and the others save us." Crowley was saying. "Otherwise everyone will attack them."

"I know." Halt agreed quietly. "And I really think Will should go, with Gilan also. They have the skills to get wherever needs going, plus the skills to protect the Vetaer. I want to go too, but I have to get back to Pauline and get her somewhere safe."

Jackar broke in before he could say anything else. "There will be nowhere safe." He said harshly. "The fire is the fire of NeverMore and once it touches something, it will soon leave this earth. Nothing you do to stop it will be any good. Water, earth and anything else normally used to douse or smother the fire will only disappear. _Nowhere is safe_."

Halt, Crowley and the rangers grouped around were frozen into shocked silence. Jackar's eyes glistened with tears as he shook his head. "My people are dying already." he whispered.

At this last statement, Halt's jaw tightened. "Then I'll go bring everyone I can with us to where it's far away."

"NO!" said Jackar. His voice rang out strong. "The fire goes faster with each step you take towards it willingly! It _wants_ to devour you!"

The bearded ranger's eyes widened.

Jackar shook his head with frustration. "You must come with me to restore the magic. Will and Gilan must come also. Many must come, as I fear the return of the Katka." His eyes flickered as he said this.

"But I have to get Pauline!" Halt said, his voice hollow with obvious shock.

"No." This time it was Will who spoke up. "Halt, Jackar just warned us not to. Send a message to her. But you can't go."

Halt turned his dark eyes onto his former apprentice.

"Is everyone trying to convince me not to go?" he asked dryly. "Alright then, Will. I'll stay. But I _will_ send her a message."

Halt quickly strode back to his own tent to get paper and ink.

Kleay watched Halt walk swiftly away. _I wonder what he's doing?_ She thought. She turned to Will and tugged his sleeve. The young man looked at her.

"Yes?"

"What's the matter with Halt?" Kleay asked curiously.

"He's just gone to get paper and ink to write a message to Pauline."

"Who's Pauline?"

"Halt's wife."

Kleay glanced curiously at the gray-bearded man's receding back. "Oh." Her green eyes flitted back to Will. "Will, please, could you show me around the camp." she broke off and looked at something behind his back.

Will turned to look as well and saw nothing but the trees at the edge of the forest. He looked back at Kleay.

"What is it?" he asked. "What are you looking at? I can't see anything."

Kleay's eyes flickered to Will, then back to the forest. "You have inferior sight then. I'm watching a...a...I'm not sure."

Will whirled again. But, as before, he saw nothing.

"How far away is he?" he asked, frustrated.

"Very far into the trees. He would be gone by the time you got there at a run. Long gone. His scent might even have faded a tiny bit."

"S-scent?"

Kleay stared at Will. "You mean you can smell no scent? I can smell everything. Even fear."

Will gaped.

Kleay nodded at the forest. "I can go catch him for you. I can run very fast. If he escapes I'll track him down by scent."

Will barely had the time to nod before she was gone. He watched her progress with amazement. She ran on all fours, like a dog, but seemed to fly over the ground. She soon was at the treeline. Kleay then leaped into the trees and jumped and ran along branches. Will watched her as long as he was able. She was long gone by the time he turned to Crowley's discussion.

The ranger commandant was making swift plans to head in the direction Jackar told them to go.

"Okay, Will, Gilan, Halt and I are all going. Jackar, Kleay and Samuria are going too." he said. "Everyone who can, go to your fiefs. Those who can't, head to Castle Araluen. It's in the opposite direction from the fire. Send messages to your fiefs everybody. That will be all." He moved off to his tent to start packing. Will fell into step beside him. Crowley looked up and nodded. "Where's Kleay gone?"

"She saw someone spying on us and she went to get him."

Crowley frowned at this piece of news but nodded. "Good. Can she track him down?"

Will nodded. "She said she can track down people by scent. She can also run like the wind. She'll bring him back, whoever it was."

Crowley nodded again. Will turned and went to pack his own tent.

* * *

**So, excited? Anxious to see who the spy is? FIND OUT VERY SOON BUT NOT YET! And, REVIEW of course!**

**Chocolate and Beans will rain from the sky while Ninjas dance in cranberry juice!-Me  
**


	9. Leaving

**A/N: Okay, this is a better chapter, but the best one so far is coming up next! Excitement is around the bend!**

**ENJOY THIS! ^?^**

**

* * *

**

Will was saddling up Tug when Kleay returned.

"Will!"

He looked up and Kleay's call and saw her trotting through the camp, searching for him. Beside her was another Vetaer. He was tall, with silvery-white hair and white ears. Will couldn't see his eye color or his tail from where he was. But what he could see was surprising. He had never seen white hair on a man as young as the Vetaer that trotted calmly and curiously beside Kleay.

Will raised one hand and called out.

"Over here."

Kleay instantly changed direction without looking. In a few moments, she was walking up to him.

"Will," she said eagerly. "This is my friend, from my village. His name is Vepaa." She smiled at the ranger.

Will, slightly unsure how to greet Vepaa, just stood there and muttered an unintelligible greeting.

The tall Vetaer knew what to do though. He brought one hand across from his shoulder to his hip and then raised the hand, palm outward, back up to his shoulder. "_Ithalow_." he said quietly. Then he looked expectantly at Will.

Will, still unsure, copied the gesture and repeated what Vepaa had said. "_Ithalow_." he stammered.

Vepaa smile broadly. "Kleay tells me you are very kind. As are the others." He laughed. "Though sometimes kindness is not for the best. It can make one soft."

Will smiled back. Now that Vepaa was closer, Will could see that his eyes were a very odd mint green color and his tail was white. It was the very oddest of eye colors. His hair as well. It was very obvious that Vepaa was not from this world. But he was very friendly and quite nice already.

Kleay grabbed Will's hand. "So, when are we going? To get the magic?" she asked eagerly. "Is Halt coming? Gilan? Crowley?"

Will nodded. "Yes, we're leaving soon. Halt, Gilan, Crowley and me are all going. I think we're also bringing some others. Maybe not though."

"I hope Tomas can come." said a voice quite close by. Will turned around to see Samuria standing a short ways away, folding a tent neatly. Beside her was a tall, blond-haired ranger with blue eyes. Samuria was obviously falling for him. Will grinned inwardly.

"Oh. Well I'll have to ask Halt." Will replied.

"Okay then." Samuria sighed. She darted a glance at Tomas, who smiled back at her. The blond ranger seemed not to mind her yellow eyes or her ears and tail. Samuria seemed not to mind that Tomas wasn't even her kind.

Will hid another grin and led Kleay and Vepaa to the place where Crowley was gathering the others around him. They walked through a forest of collapsing tents and rangers busily packing or seeing to wounds that hadn't been noticed up til now. Brent trotted past leading two horses to where Corin was packing. He smiled and nodded but didn't let go of the horses bridles. Tug whinnied briefly and caused both Kleay and Vepaa to jump and flatten their ears a little. They didn't seem to be familiar with horses.

Will called out as he approached Crowley. "Hey! Crowley! Kleay found the spy!"

"Spy?" asked Vepaa, amused. "I had no idea I was held in such high esteem!" He gave an easy laugh. Kleay grinned as well. She seemed fond of her friend but not very attached. For some odd reason, Will felt a twinge of relief at that thought.

Crowley looked up and blinked with surprise at Vepaa. He shook it off quickly though and smiled. "And what's your name?" he asked politely.

"My name is Vepaa." The Vetaer smiled pleasantly at Crowley. "I know already what is going on. Kleay caught me up on all that is happened and where we are going. I will come to."

Crowley nodded his approval. "That's fine. We'll be leaving within a few minutes. We're just waiting for Halt and Gilan."

Vepaa nodded and sat down on the ground. He sat slightly weird, in a cat-like way with his palms flat on the ground between his knees. He closed his mint-green eyes and breathed deeply in an out. Kleay did the same. Will blinked and stared a little before he looked away and talked quietly to Crowley. Halt eventually came up with Abelard. Samuria and Tomas had already arrived.

"Alright then! We're all here." said Crowley. "Let's get moving."

Vepaa and Kleay jumped up and all the Vetaer moved into a small clump. The rangers all swung astride their horses and they quickly set off.

In the direction of the Solitary Plains.

Halt, Will and Gilan exchanged looks.

"Beware all flute players!" said Gilan.

Then they all laughed.

* * *

**FINALLY! They're leaving after this many chapters! I really hope y'all are excited. This is going to be my best story ever!  
**

**Chocolate and Beans will rain from the sky while Ninjas dance in cranberry juice!-Me  
**


End file.
